The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-28
In the House.

In the House.
In the House to-day Mr.. We'll, of Fulton
moved to reconsider the action of the House
yesterday, in refusing to pass the bill to
prohibit the operation of 'bucket shops" i'll
Georgia He said that he had introduced
the bill at the request of the merchants OF
Atlanta He thought dealing in futures was
gambling. The bill did not seek to control
legitimate transactions, but only to prohibit
gambling in these enterprises The motion
to reconsider was agreed to.
On motion of Mr.. Russell, of Polk, the bill
introducedby him to impose tax of $1,000
on itinerant physicians, which was adopted
yesterday, was reconsidered.
The special order of the day was the con-
sideration of the bill of Mr.. Huff of Bib, to
establish permanent penitentary and sup
ply farm. The bill was taken up and read,
the House sitting as committee of the
whole, with Mr.. Clay, of Cobb, in the chair
This supply farm or principal penitentiary,
is to be managed by five trustees, three OF
whom shall be practical farmers, one con-
tractor and one good business man. The
superintendent of the farm shall be
farmer, not less than 80 years of age, and
shall permanently reside on the farm Not
less than 1000 nor more than 1000 acres of
land shall be bought at a cost of not more
than $40 per acre. The five trustees are to
receive $500 each per annum to be paid the
present leases. The Superintendent is to
receive 81, 900 per annum paid in the same
manner as the trustees. Should the public
road gang become established one civil en-
gineer is to be appointed at a salary of
81 500 per annum. The first sixteen sections
of the bill are intended to carry out the act
of 1876 by establishing central penitentiary
and farm, to which all future convicts that
come into the hands of the State shall 60
and from which they shall be drawn,
with the exception of women and children
under 10. 1t proposes no interference with
the present leases, but allows surrender
by parties now holding and provides for
any that may be forfeited. In case of sur
render or forfeiture the counties or judicial
circuits may claim and work their convicts
on their roads, and when, from any cause,
fifty ablebodied convicts accrue, then pub
lie road gang shall be established under
State management. The counties or cir
cults are to take convicts free of expense to
the State.
The rest of the bill simply attaches penal
ties to all violators of the lease act of 1876,
a. shown by recent Investigations to exist.
OPENING THE DISCUSSION.
Mr.. Terrell opened the argument iu favor
of the bill. He said there were two leading
propositions in the bill. He said that he
felt no hesitation in saying that there was
legislation needed ON the system. In OPP
position to the present system he would not
go into the legal points involved. The Gov
ernor was now considering the legal ques-
tions involved In the lease and the system
He thought that the State should punish her
own criminals and not delegate that power
to private persons and corporations. The SEN
tence imposed on convict was that he should
be punished by hard labor by the State
Again, he thought that the convIcts should
be punished humanely. He did not take
81 L.
that was expressed. The convicts are the
slaves of the State and she should temper
her treatment with mercy. In many in
stances the leSSees did not look bevond the
making of money out of these convicts. A
good objection TO the system was that it in
terfered with free and honest labor Here
III Atlanta the brick interest is monopoly
He said there was a large margin in convict
labor. Should not this margin go into the
pockets of the State! As it was this mar
gin now goes into the pockets of a few les
sees. 1t might be held that the next lease
would pay more money, but there was no
guarantee for this. Combinations could
be formed by which the State could
make no better trade than it did before 1t
was nothing but justice to the people that
the large margin made out of the handling
should go into the pockets of the people
1t was certainly right and just that convict
labor should never be put in competition
with the honest laboring classes of the
State. He thought that in making a change
the Legislature should be governed by the
experience of other States Fulton county
was working her women and children sepa-
rately from the men, and making them sup
port themselves on a farm.
MIR. HUFF's SPEECH
Mr.. Huff said that the length of the bill
should not brighten the House. He thought
that 1t was safe, perfectly feasible and per-
fectly practicable. He wanted the bill CON
sidered coolly, calmly and considerably
he regarded the bill under consideration
as secondary III Importance only to the
disposition of the Western and Atlantic
railroad.
He wanted the question considered and
disposed of as a business proposition There
were but four leading ideas in the bill The
measure proposed to take from the lessees the
women and children under l6 years of age
He proposed TO show that the lease act and
the contract was an infamous swindle upon
the State, and he meant what he said The
original lease act provided for q peni-
Tertiary This the lessees have never
established and never intended to do so. He
proposed to show that there is not a South
ern State in the Union that gets so little
money for so many convicts. He proposed
10 show that the Governor of the State had
characterized the law as the most damnable
outrage ever put upon the State
He said that no lease like that of Georgia
had been made by any Southern State. He
referred 10 the length of the lease The
lease started out with S25 rate, and now
we get down TO a $40 rate One of the
main provisions of the lease was humanity.
He read the act of 1871, showing
that Grant, Alexander q Co. were
the leSsees He then read the act
Of 1876, which was passed during a Demo
cratic administration. This act provided
that the State should pay principal keeper
and this was 20 be the only expense TO the
State in connection with the management
OF the convicts. Inc act provides that they
shall work not more than ten hours day
and never on Sunday. He would prove that
they worked without regard 10 the number
OF hours Ia "A day, and on Sunday time and
time again. The lessees had admitted Sun.
day working, and said that they could not
run their furnaces, brick yards and other
enterprises without working them on sun
day, lie dared any lessee or any friend Of
a lessee ~ deny il. There was hardly
provision OF the act that was respected by
The lessee
INFLUENCING LE0isLAToN.
Three or four yenrs before the first lease
expired we md Tom Alexander and J0ssph
L. Brown nionl.eying around the Legisla.